


Book of Love

by MagicaDraconia16



Series: 2020 Bingos [4]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Eventual Threesome, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, MHEAhqn2020, Marvel Polyship Bingo, Multi, No Underage Sex, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pining, Trope Bingo Round 14, minor racism, no underage anything
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-06-30
Packaged: 2021-02-28 04:54:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22964230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagicaDraconia16/pseuds/MagicaDraconia16
Summary: It's amazing what you can find in bookstores these days - fiction books, textbooks, stationary . . . even love.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Phil Coulson & Tony Stark, Phil Coulson/James "Rhodey" Rhodes, eventual Phil Coulson/James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark
Series: 2020 Bingos [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1634290
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11
Collections: MHEA Harlequin Hoopla Prompt Challenge 2020, Marvel Polyship Bingo 2020, Trope Bingo: Round Fourteen





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally supposed to be for the Holiday Movie Challenge (prompt was: _Two new students at a nearby university, Character A and Character B, meet the first day of classes and become study partners. A local bookstore becomes a close part of their lives as their relationship grows._ ) but obviously didn't make it, so now it's for the Harlequin Hoopla, SuperRomance prompts 1st Feb **first date** and 4th Feb **friends to lovers**. 
> 
> This is also (eventually) for the Marvel Polyship Bingo, square G3: Family doesn't approve. 
> 
> Also, I am neither an engineer, nor a physicist, nor any kind of scientist, nor educated to any degree/masters/PhD level, so hand-waved engineering title is hand-waved.

The first time they met went unremarked to all parties, except perhaps the higher beings gleefully arranging their fate. It lasted no longer than a few seconds – one passing through the door the other held open.

The second meeting was a lot more noticeable, although, to be fair, it would take more effort than was possible to ignore a drunken Tony Stark. Especially when he fell off the table he was dancing on and landed directly in James Rhodes’ arms.

“Well, hello there,” he slurred, trying for a flirty grin, which was marred by the squinting he was doing.

“Nope,” James Rhodes replied, and dumped the young Tony Stark onto the floor.

The third meeting was the charm. James was in the new bookstore that had just opened off campus, searching the engineering section for a book that MIT’s bookstore didn’t have, when someone bumped into him from behind and almost sent him headfirst into the nearest shelf.

“Shit!” a voice said as someone grabbed his arm to steady him. “Sorry about that. I know how to walk, I swear.”

Pulling himself upright, James turned to look at the other person, and found himself blinking at Tony Stark. It still surprised him – the other male didn’t look any older than early teens, although there were rumours around campus that he was freakishly smart.

“Do I know you?” Stark asked, peering closely at him. “I feel like I do; you look familiar.”

“You fell off a table and landed on me at the party last weekend,” James told him.

Stark suddenly grinned at him, and James had the absent thought that he was going to be a real heartbreaker once he grew up a bit. “That’s it! You dumped me on the floor. That was very rude of you, you know.”

“Oh, the horror,” said James, completely deadpan. “I shall now go and expire from shame. Do excuse me.”

Stark laughed. “I’ll excuse you, but just this once,” he said. “But only because I almost knocked you over, which was just as rude. Were you looking for something in particular, or just a bit of light reading?”

Looking at the thick books that could double as doorstops, James raised his eyebrows as he turned back to Stark. “Light reading?” he repeated, incredulously.

“Bedtime stories,” said Stark, but his expression had shifted. James was fairly certain that was insecurity lurking in the other boy’s eyes, and he sort of regretted his reaction. No doubt most people at MIT didn’t like Stark ‘flaunting’ his genius in their faces.

“Hmm.” He pretended to consider the matter, squinting sideways at a particularly thick tome. “I can see it.” Stark relaxed again. “But no. I’m after this book that Professor Harper recommended as a supplement, except no-one else appears to have ever heard of it.”

Stark frowned. “'Relating the Relativity of the Quarksons', right?” he asked, barely waiting for James’ nod before turning to the shelves further down. “…here somewhere,” he muttered, before giving a crow of triumph. “Here,” he said, pulling a book off the shelf and handing it to James. “They keep forgetting the last name is triple-hyphened and putting it in the wrong place.”

James took the book from him with a sense of disbelief. “I’ve been looking for this for _days_ ,” he informed Stark. “Seriously, you’re a miracle worker, man.”

Stark actually _blushed_ , but he gave James a small, pleased smile. Then he apparently caught sight of the clock on the wall, and his expression turned horrified. “Shit, I’m late!” he exclaimed. He started backing away down the aisle. “Nice meeting you. Not getting dropped, even better. We’ll have to do this again some time. Good talk? Good talk!”

And then he was around the corner and out of sight, leaving James staring at where he’d been in bemusement.

* * *

After that, it seemed James spotted Stark everywhere he went. He’d have worried that he’d picked up a stalker if it weren’t for the fact that Stark nearly always had his _own_ stalkers, who always announced his arrival to the entire vicinity. Extremely loudly.

Stark always smiled or tossed a wave at him whenever he saw James but never got a chance to stop and talk again. James had to wonder what Stark had done to be alone in that bookstore.

Then again, he thought uncharitably the fifth time his studies were interrupted by raucous laughter, perhaps they’d been afraid they might catch something – like, say, an education – if they went anywhere near a book.

With a heartfelt groan, James slammed his textbook shut and began gathering his things. He and several other students had been enjoying the warm weather, but as the group around Stark appeared to be settling in – and stripping off – James wasn’t the only one abandoning the courtyard.

Unfortunately, his train of thought had been broken. Knowing he wouldn’t be able to get back into his assignment, James headed for a nearby coffee shop. It hadn’t looked that busy, but by the time he’d been through the line and received his order, the tables were filling up fast.

In fact, he’d barely sat down himself when a throat cleared behind him. “May I sit here? Everywhere else is full.”

“Sure.” James obligingly shuffled over as a young man gingerly placed an over-full cup onto the table.

“Thank you.” The man managed to sit without knocking the table or jostling his drink. James was mildly impressed. “Is it usually this busy?” the other man asked, glancing round the shop.

James shrugged. “No idea, man. This is my first time coming in here.”

“Oh. Well, it seems a nice place.”

With that, they lapsed into an awkward silence. James’ mama had taught him it was rude to just sit and not make conversation, but unless he wanted to pull out his textbooks again – and there wasn’t really room for that – then he was reduced to small talk, and he _hated_ trying to make small talk with someone he wasn’t likely to see again.

Oddly, after that, James began seeing the ‘Coffee Guy’ almost as often as he saw Stark. He didn’t have any conversations with him, either, until he happened to visit the off-campus bookstore at the beginning of the winter break and discovered ‘Coffee Guy’ standing awkwardly in the engineering section.

James halted in his tracks and eyed the other man warily. He’d not seen this guy in any of his courses. Of course, it was always possible that ‘Coffee Guy’ was studying in his own time for his own interest, but considering how often James had seen him everywhere _but_ the engineering labs, then it was definitely odd.

“Oh. Uh, hello.” ‘Coffee Guy’ blinked at him, and a faint blush appeared over the bridge of his nose. James found it oddly charming, and wondered what it would take to get that colour to spread to other areas. “I’m – uh – taking an engineering class?”

James folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow. “Try again,” he advised.

The other man sighed and his shoulders slumped in resignation. “Okay, fine,” he muttered. “I’m not _actually_ taking engineering. I just . . . wanted an excuse to talk.”

“Oh yeah? ‘Bout what?” James asked. He _really_ hoped he hadn’t discovered one of those ‘good ole boys’ who were still under the impression that skin colour corresponded to intelligence. Or ownership.

“About . . . hmm . . . the possibility of . . . me asking you out?” The blush on his nose deepened.

James could only stare in surprise. That was _not_ what he’d expected, not even in the top _twenty_.

Still… He gave the guy another look. Objectively speaking, the guy was good looking, even if he gave off the air of a world-weary businessman. At the very least, James thought, it wouldn’t _hurt_ to consider it.

“Okay,” he agreed, finally. “How about we go get a coffee and discuss this . . . _possibility_.”

A smile slowly lit up the other man’s face. “That’d be great,” he said, and gestured for James to lead the way out of the bookstore. “I know this lovely little coffee shop…”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As mentioned previously, this chapter is written for **Marvel Polyship Bingo:** _G3 - Family doesn't approve_. 
> 
> It is also written for **Trope Bingo Round 14:** _G5 - Meet the parents/family_
> 
> Tags have been updated. I've marked it as 'minor racism' because it isn't obvious whether the first part of Howard's remarks are for Rhodey's 'perceived' relationship with Phil (since Howard doesn't actually know whether they are or aren't together) or for the colour of Rhodey's skin.

Stark was back again.

Of course, it was a free bookstore – figuratively speaking – in a free country, but it was odd how many times Stark managed to shed all his hangers-on and just… hung out here.

Although James couldn’t throw too many stones; he and Phil had turned this particular table into their very own study carrel. The bookstore staff were surprisingly lenient about it.

“Hey! Uh, hi,” Stark stammered, once he realised they’d seen him. “Small world, huh? Not looking for another book, are you?”

Unable to help himself, James glanced around at the nearby shelves, then turned back and raised an eyebrow at Stark.

“Right, yeah, bookstore, forget I said anything,” Stark hastily backtracked, flushing a dusky red. He cleared his throat and then stuck a hand out at James. “Tony Stark,” he said. “I don’t think we actually introduced ourselves.”

James winced as he realised Stark was right. It was just that _everyone_ knew who Stark was, so it had kinda… slipped his mind that Stark didn’t know _him_ in return.

“James Rhodes,” he said, reaching out to briefly shake Stark’s hand.

“Philip Coulson,” Phil interjected, when it seemed as though Stark had forgotten his existence.

The blush that had been dying down came back as Stark jolted in surprise. James wondered whether he’d even seen Phil in the first place.

“Ah, nice to meet you,” Stark managed as he carefully – and equally briefly – shook Phil’s hand. He glanced back and forth between the two of them and where they’d spread their books out across the table. “Oh, God, I’m sorry, am I interrupting?” he asked. “I’m interrupting you. Damn it, I’m sorry, I’ll just—” He made a brief gesture over his shoulder and was backing away before either James or Phil could get a word out.

“Well,” said Phil, as Stark disappeared back down the aisles, “that was interesting.”

“I guess that’s one word for it.” James kept staring at where Stark had all but left a cloud of dust. “Wonder what that was about.”

Phil looked at him, an odd smirk pulling at his mouth. “Oh, James,” he said in an amused tone. “He has a crush on you.”

“What?” It felt as though his brain had just blue-screened as his gaze shot to Phil. “Nah, come on, man.”

“No, I’m serious.” Phil turned a full smile on James (whose brain almost short-circuited again, because Phil’s proper, full on smiles were precious but _rare_ ). “He was angling to spend time with you, and barely even noticed I was here.”

James shook his head, trying to get his thoughts going again. “But he’s just a kid,” he protested.

This time, Phil actually laughed out loud. James both wanted him to do it again and to kiss the sound right out of his mouth. “He’s about three weeks away from turning fifteen,” Phil pointed out. “That’s the _prime_ age to begin getting crushes.”

“I see.” James leant an elbow on the table and propped his chin on his fist. “You got first-hand knowledge of this, huh?”

To his utter delight, the bridge of Phil’s nose went pink.

“I have no idea what on earth you’re talking about,” said Phil, haughtily.

James grinned at him. “If it’s any consolation, I was about five when I had my first crush.”

“Oh?” Now it was Phil’s turn to rest an elbow on the table. “Do tell.”

“Hmm.” James pretended to think about it, idly tapping a forefinger against his chin. “You know, I don’t think I recall any such thing after all.”

Phil shook his head. “Of course you don’t,” he said, then he _smirked_ at James. “Guess I’ll just have to ask Mama Rhodes all about it. I bet _she_ remembers it perfectly well.”

James blinked at him, confused. “But… you’ve not met my mom yet,” he said, blankly.

“Not yet, but there’s that engineering fair coming up in a couple of weeks, and your family’s coming down for that.” Phil took in James’ expression and grinned at him. “And you forgot about it, didn’t you?”

“I—” James _had_ forgotten. “ _Shit!_ ” he said, forcefully. Now that Phil had reminded him, he was fairly certain that he was supposed to have something _in_ this fair, but he had no idea of _what_.

Phil was chuckling as he started to gather their things. “Come on,” he urged James. “Get your stuff. You’ll want to go and read the info pack you were given.”

“…I was given an info pack?” James wondered, scooping his textbook into his rucksack. “How do you know?”

“Because I saved it from the trash last week when you were clearing out your notebook and threw it out,” Phil told him.

James shook his head in awe. Phil was always so ridiculously organised; it was like his superpower or something. He had a better handle on his life than James could ever hope to emulate. Hell, he had a better handle on _James’_ life than James had.

“You’re going to rule the world one day,” he declared as they exited the bookstore. “Overthrow the government with paperwork!”

“Government _thrives_ on paperwork,” Phil pointed out, wryly.

“The government _creates_ paperwork for _other people_ ,” James corrected. “ _You_ will create paperwork that _they have to fill in themselves_!”

Phil shook his head and laughed. “You’re insane,” he said. “Good thing I love you anyway.”

James almost tripped over his own feet as his gaze shot straight to Phil, who was studiously avoiding it. “What?” he asked, breathlessly. “Say that again!”

The corner of Phil’s mouth twitched. “I love you anyway,” he repeated and gave James a quick glance from the corner of his eye.

James did not get very far with his engineering fair project that night.

* * *

Much to Phil’s amusement, James’ consternation and Stark’s embarrassment, James ended up just two booths away from Stark at the fair. He couldn’t see what Stark’s project was, but it certainly got a lot of attention.

Still, it didn’t stop Stark from wandering around the surrounding booths until he ‘accidentally’ wound up at James’. He gave James an uncertain smile, opened his mouth—

—and promptly closed it again as an older man staggered against the table, nearly knocking James’ project over. The man righted himself and squinted at the info board James had put up.

“This yours?” the man asked Stark, glaring at him. “Bit simple, isn’t it? What, you couldn’t be bothered to put any actual effort in?”

“ _Dad_ , this isn’t my booth,” Stark hissed, his face going red with horrified embarrassment. “Mine’s over _here_. This is James’.”

The older man – Howard Stark, James now realised, and drunk as a skunk – glanced at James as though he hadn’t noticed anyone else there. James was beginning to get a bad feeling. Phil, his helper for the day, laid a hand on his arm, obviously getting the same feeling.

Howard sneered at them. “Can’t believe they let people like _that_ into decent places like this,” he said, and Stark closed his eyes, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Dad, let’s just – just – my booth’s just here,” he said, hopelessly, and half turned away to urge Howard on.

Unfortunately, the older Stark was too inebriated – or too stubborn – to be led that easily. “Disgusting creatures,” he said, his words slurring. Phil’s hand tightened on James’ arm. “Should be made illegal again.”

“Dad, _please_ ,” Stark begged. His eyes met James’, and James almost flinched at the absolute _anguish_ in them. “Don’t – don’t cause a scene.” He reached towards Howard but didn’t quite touch him. “Come on—”

Howard finally swung away from James’ table, apparently ignoring everyone who was watching him. “Glad you aren’t a pansy, boy,” he said to his son. “Plenty else wrong with you but at least you’re no faggot.”

Stark flinched so hard he almost toppled over onto a nearby gawker, but Howard was too drunk to notice. James was fairly certain, though, that he knew _exactly_ what thought was going through Stark’s mind.

_But I am one._


End file.
